Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings leaves the company
After 29 years at Netflix, founder Reed Hastings is leaving the company. He was most recently on the board of directors.
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In 1997, Reed Hastings, together with Marc Randolph, founded the then DVD rental company Netflix. 29 years later, Hastings will leave the company, Netflix announced when presenting its current business figures. The American, who was most recently on the board of directors, wants to dedicate himself more to philanthropy.
Hastings led Netflix as CEO to become the global market leader in film and series streaming before stepping down from his position in 2023 in favor of a new dual leadership of Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters. Hastings remained with the company for several more years as a member of the board of directors. However, he will not stand for the next election, Netflix announced.
Good quarter also thanks to Paramount payment
Meanwhile, Netflix looks back on a strong quarter: In the first three months of the year, Netflix generated revenue of 12.25 billion US dollars according to the quarterly report – an improvement of 16 percent compared to the same period last year and according to Bloomberg slightly above analysts' expectations.
In absolute terms, profit rose by almost 83 percent to 5.28 billion US dollars, and earnings per share of 1.23 US dollars were also significantly above expectations. Netflix owes this to a one-time payment from Paramount: Because the deal between Netflix and Warner Bros. failed due to an offer from Paramount, Paramount owed Netflix a break-up fee of 2.8 billion US dollars. Paramount had assured Warner that it would pay this sum itself.
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Netflix downplayed the significance of the failed deal in a letter to shareholders. An acquisition of Warner could have accelerated its strategy, Netflix writes – but only at the right price. There are many other ways to achieve its goals. This aligns with previous statements from the US streamer: Warner was only a “nice to have,” Netflix wrote immediately after withdrawing from the bidding for Warner Bros.
Disappointing profit forecast
Netflix's profit forecast for the current quarter disappointed investors: The streaming giant predicted earnings per share (EPS) of 78 US cents for the current quarter, which falls short of analysts' expectations. The stock temporarily fell by more than nine percent in after-hours US trading.
Netflix has not provided new subscriber numbers. The most recent figure dates from January 2026, when Netflix reported 325 million paying subscribers.
(dahe)
